Go on, fly the home-made flag - celebrate British brands

Buying British doesn’t just mean stocking up on Union Jack designs. As Charlotte Methven discovers, it’s about supporting our own economy, encouraging home-grown talent, and celebrating all the unique skills, traditions and creative ideas that make us truly Brit-tastic

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Last summer, in the hilarious (and telling) documentary series Made in Britain, comedian Dom Joly set himself the task of going through his home and chucking out everything not made on these shores. Stripped of his German fridge-freezer, M&S pants (made in the Far East) and more or less everything else of significance, he found himself left with only his wellington boots and a Savile Row suit.

The show was a sad indictment of the state of British manufacturing, but it also proved – as Joly set about finding replacements for his Ikea possessions (Cornish clay plates fired in Stoke-on-Trent, waterbeds made in Exmouth) – that creativity is alive and well in this country if you know where to look. And while not long ago the idea of ‘shopping locally’ connoted a certain lack of worldliness – a bobbly jumper knitted by a local granny, perhaps – buying British is now the surest sign of a trend-conscious shopper.

‘Made in Britain’ is a stamp to be proud of – and it’s increasingly becoming a powerful branding message. In tune with the times, luxury knitwear specialist John Smedley, which has been manufacturing its signature merino wool jumpers from Derbyshire’s Derwent Valley for 225 years, announced last November that it would scrap its only foreign factory in China to strengthen the Britishness of the brand. Also to this end, it has revamped its Mayfair flagship store, using Derbyshire-quarried stone for the floors.

There is no doubt about it: a combination of ethical and patriotic considerations has increased interest in British goods. As many of us now shrink from eating South African strawberries in winter, and opt for English apples, so too do we reject the idea of buying goods made by one of the millions of women and children working in sweatshops around the world, in favour of items produced by skilled craftsmen and women right here in Britain.

Dawne Stubbs, creative director of John Smedley, says: ‘The Made in Britain image is now highly prized by consumers. It’s been a slow evolution – a gathering swell of people who are asking more questions and becoming more concerned about what they’re buying.’ Helen McGiveron, a devoted consumer of British-made fashion, explains: ‘When I buy a locally produced garment I feel that, in some small way, I am helping to keep some of our rich wool and textile heritage alive – and skills such as button-making and hand-knitting, which are dying out. A British-made dress or jumper feels so special to me and also like a bold fashion statement.’

Interior design guru Nina Campbell – who is now sourcing much of her collection in the UK, from upholstered furniture to china – has seen a shift in attitudes since the financial meltdown of 2008. ‘People have turned to home-grown talent and manufacturers. They are spending in the UK to support our own economy through a tough time. Also they want to know where their product has come from, and that a minimal carbon footprint was incurred in getting it to them.’

‘People are spending in the UK to support our own economy’

But it’s not just established designers who are choosing to incur the extra costs (for example, an expensive workforce, lack of competition among suppliers) of producing their wares in Britain. A growing number of small, up-and-coming retailers are also responding to the increased demand for local goods. Last autumn, the quintessentially British department store Liberty of London hosted an exhibition showcasing some of these. ‘Britain Can (Still) Make It’ was inspired by a similar show, ‘Britain Can Make It’, held at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1946 as a postwar morale booster. And, like the original show, it focused on small, creative companies, making the point that our real strengths lie in creativity and design.

Anya Pearson is a perfect example. Disillusioned after 20 years of working for high-street companies such as Warehouse, she founded organic clothing label Frank & Faith in 2006. Based in Dorset, with factories in Leicester and Scotland, the company is faring well. With calamities such as the recession and swine flu engulfing us, she explains, ‘There is a yearning for all things British. It’s that Union Jack imagery and the whole “Keep Calm and Carry On” mentality. People take comfort in the idea that “a local farmer grew that potato”. It’s the same with fashion – there’s a huge growth in demand.’

Natural Empathy, a Northumberland skincare brand founded in October 2008, epitomises this by using locally grown extra virgin rapeseed oil in its organic products. ‘We believe that in Britain we should make things, and not simply be a shop window for other countries,’ says founder Philip Stuckey. ‘By supporting British growers, we keep down our ingredient miles, understand the provenance of our ingredients better, and reduce our impact on the environment.’

Nina Campbell is adamant that not only is buying British patriotic, ethical and the ‘right’ thing to do, but also that British craftsmen have something ‘uniquely British to offer. So many of the craftsmen I work with are one-man bands or the latest in a family dynasty of artisans, where skills have been passed from one generation to the next. Without our support, they are likely to become extinct. It has never been more important to support British design and industry.’

But those producing here have a mountain to climb. Isobel Davies, who founded small Yorkshire-based woollens company Izzy Lane (izzylane.com) three years ago and uses her own breed of Wensleydale sheep to make her clothes – which retail from about £110 for a wool skirt or cashmere jumper – says: ‘We’re surviving – but just. Yorkshire is covered in sheep, but I can scarcely find anyone to process the wool! There used to be 53 worsted spinners in my region; now there is one. The mills we’re using are the only ones left in the Calderdale region, and this was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution!’

‘This era of fast fashion that ends up in landfill has to stop’

Perhaps the greatest obstacle of all for British manufacturers is the fact that consumers’ expectations have changed: we’ve become used to being able to update our wardrobes cheaply and regularly. ‘Less than ten years ago, people expected to pay at least £20 for a high-street jumper, but now they want T-shirt prices for everything,’ says Anya Pearson (whose organic cotton tops sell for around £50). ‘Where do they think this saving is coming from? Not from Philip Green’s own pocket!’ she says, referring to the billionaire businessman who owns the Arcadia Group, parent company of brands such as Topshop and Dorothy Perkins. ‘It’s the women and children in the sweatshops. This era of fast fashion that ends up in landfill has to stop.’

This calls to mind the saying about people who ‘know the price of everything and the value of nothing’. But there are signs that British consumers are waking up to the ‘price’ of buying a throwaway shirt and the ‘value’ of investing in a dearer, but more durable, UK-made item, thereby keeping British craftsmen in work.

Says one fashionista, who has discovered the joys of sourcing her wardrobe locally: ‘I feel like I’ve rediscovered the excellent manufacturing and craftsmanship we are capable of producing in this country. I’d go so far as to say that it’s everyone’s duty to shop British. Your country needs you!’

The hope must be that such thinking will lead to an increased demand for quality home-made goods, which might – in time – offset the extra cost of making them. Isobel Davies is optimistic. ‘If customers had the information, they would buy British every time,’ she says. ‘Products made in Britain are well-made and durable, and British sheep are adapted to this climate, so their wool is the perfect fibre to protect us from the cold.’

One of her customers says: ‘I feel a million dollars when I wear anything from Izzy Lane. You can trace the origin of each garment from the sheep to the knitter or weaver, and the clothes are beautifully made. They’re different to anything you would find on the high street – and by wearing them you’re helping to save sheep, too!’

A family-owned business, it is still making its signature merino wool and sea island cotton pullovers in the same factory in Derbyshire’s Derwent Valley where it set up shop 225 years ago.

THE MORGAN MOTOR COMPANY

Founded in 1909, Morgan still builds all its cars — with their nostalgic, quintessentially English design — by hand in Malvern, Worcestershire. The vehicles are much in demand: if you want one, prepare to join a one- to two-year waiting list.

MATHMOS

Made in Dorset and sold in Hoxton, London, Mathmos was founded in 1963, and still operates from the same factory in Poole. Its wonderfully retro lava lamps and other funky, modernistic lighting products (including LED lights, space projectors, airswitch lights) are a testament to Great British craftsmanship, with a hip twist.

JOHN LOBB

Worn by everyone from King Edward VII to Daniel Day-Lewis and 007, these super-high-end shoes and boots continue to be handmade in England by the Lobb family and sold (for a small fortune) on London’s Jermyn Street.

NINA CAMPBELL

The grande dame of interiors, Nina Campbell is devoted to British manufacturing, and her wallpaper, metal and upholstered furniture, china and scented candles are all made on these shores.

LUSH

A popular purveyor of fun bath, shower, hair and skincare products since 1994, the company manufactures everything by hand in Poole, Dorset, using naturally derived ingredients that haven’t been tested on animals.

HOBBS

The high-street brand has recently launched a limited-edition ‘Heritage & Artisan’ range, including leather belts and organic wool, fleece and cashmere all made and sourced in the UK.

A Northumberland-based family company making beauty products with the main moisturising ingredient of Yellow Fields rapeseed oil, which is grown and pressed in Morpeth.

ALBAM

Started three years ago by two entrepreneurs who wanted to see if it was possible to make good clothes without turning to China, Albam has the vast majority of its Great British basics — including raincoats and fishermen’s jumpers — made in factories in Nottingham, Leicester and Manchester.

CHRISTOPHER KANE

A rising name in British fashion since establishing his eponymous label in 2006, Kane has all his knitwear made in Scotland.

FROST FRENCH

Sadie Frost and Jemima French now reportedly make 40 per cent of their clothing collection, which was relaunched in 2008, in Britain.

VERTU

Founded in 1998, Vertu offers blingy, bespoke, diamond-encrusted mobile phones retailing for five figures, made in the company’s HQ in Hampshire.

MINIMALUX

Started in 2009 by Mark Holmes, who co-founded Established & Sons with Stella McCartney’s hubby Alasdhair Willis, Minimalux makes contemporary style items — from paperweights to egg cups — from solid brass with 24-carat gold or silver plating, and with British manufacturing partners.

TARA STARLET

This vintage-inspired fashion line, launched in 2005 by a mother-daughter team, sells pieces that look like they could have been worn by silver-screen starlets such as Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. The label manufactures everything in Britain using recycled buttons and trimmings.

THE ART FACTORY

This company uses British waste to make funky, original furniture, including the tables and chairs for Jo Wood’s pop-up restaurant Mrs Paisley’s Lashings.

FOXGLOVES LONDON

Launched just a year ago, Foxgloves sells beautiful animal-themed jewellery, handmade in East London.